


Words

by Tuberose84



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, On The Way To A Smile: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, F/M, Relationship(s), Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuberose84/pseuds/Tuberose84
Summary: Inspired by the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children prequel novel On the Way to a Smile Case of Tifa and set 2 years after completion of game events but prior to the film.Also influenced of course by the Final Fantasy VII Remake in general given how Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart and the apparent burgeoning romance between them are really showcased.She ask Cloud a specific loaded question in the novella and I decided to dress it up with a bit more context because of the intimacy of both the question itself and the manner in which it is asked. My interpretation of major intimacy issues as she struggles with their deteriorating relationship.This a brief one shot. I have not written any fanfic in ages so a new experience for me.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Kudos: 52





	Words

The shared bedroom is nearly silent. Moments ago, once echoing with a duet of fervent yet hushed gasping, now there is no sound save for the machine-like whoosh of the ceiling fan and somnolent breathing. And even now the absence of sound frustrates her. 

Their limbs still slightly entangled and damp with perspiration, she observes him. By now she knows when he is asleep and of late it’s among the few instances she denotes any peace in his countenance. He’s beautiful, and even now the part of her still hot and sticky in the aftermath of their union throbs ever so gently. She knows that she will always want him and only him in this way. Yet even at the peak of their intimacy when she peers into his eyes, she doesn’t see him. Physically they are together. Every part of her being knows him and is loving him. But somehow, he seems to be slipping further and further away. As if retreating into himself whilst inside of her.

Ordinarily gentle and giving, now when he holds her, caresses her, there is an increased desperation. As if despite the growing distance between them, by sheer will he could meld their bodies together. To her startlement It feels good. However, it also nearly frightens and most definitely confuses her. On one hand it’s as if he’s promising that he will stay by her side forever. “I love you; I need you!” - his body says. Yet simultaneously perhaps he wishes to transcribe every contour of her body within the palms of his hands and commit them to memory. And why? Is he preparing for a journey without her? Has he already departed?

“Words aren’t the only thing that tell people what you’re thinking…”

Words she herself once spoke, and true. She remembers the first time they laid together. And yes, there was a similar backdrop of desperation. Yet this was born from a sense of uncertainty of what the future held on the eve of the battle that would culminate their journey together. She can still envision the blanket of stars above and around them. The prickling chill of the night air which was offset by the heat emanating from their conjoined bodies. The barriers between them completely gone in both a literal and figurative sense, they satisfied a yearning and a tension that haunted each seemingly benign touch or grasp shared between them since their reunion. But for all the moments they fought side by side, they were not yet familiar with one another’s bodies in this way. Of course, there remained an inherent awkwardness and novelty born from the feeling of their skin contact. Eventually they found themselves writhing - nearly wrestling - together beneath the stars. She’s unable to forget the initial pain as she accommodated him which dissolved into pleasure as they instinctively found their rhythm. How he made her body elicit sounds and sensations which up until this moment were foreign to her. And afterwards, undone in each other’s arms, how they held one another with fingers interlaced, as if in tacit agreement to never let go again. 

But they prevailed and survived even if those who initially embarked on the journey with them could not experience this victory in the land of the living. And upon the conclusion of the battle, with the threat vanquished there came a domiciled existence. A true home and family they built together in restoration of all that was taken away from them. A fulfillment of a desire she’s harbored in her heart ever since tragedy and separation thrust her from adolescence into a harsh adulthood. A desire she believed he shared. And with that came a sense of peace. And finally, the words once so difficult to express came along shortly thereafter. She loved, as she knows she always will, and received that love in return. Or so she thought, not realizing how fragile their familial existence truly was. She bemoans how grief, unspoken and unshared, causes even the most sincere joy to fester. Once upon a time she believed there was no measure of bereavement that was insurmountable so long as leaned on one another.

“Cloud, do you love me?” 

She doesn’t expect a response.


End file.
